Juan Day in Hoenn - Lykas' Badge Run

[Requiem of Whyspers]

TerashiLeonGoken

"Jeez. I get that you have a job to do, lady, but maybe stop being so stuck-up about it," Abby muttered under her breath as the battle between Lykas and Roxxane came to a close. As Lykas walked up to her, she jumped off the stands and did a little stretching. "That said, you cleaned her clock kinda quick. But I guess only having two Pokemon to fight helps with that. Ready when you are, bro." she said, following behind him.

Lykas nodded to Abby in agreement, stowing his new TM in his bag and pinning his new badge in place on the inside of the bag's cover flap. He'd get a proper badge case later. "Alright, then. Off to the forest!" He exclaimed cheerfully. Petalburg Woods wasn't really anything spectacular but it was also one of those forests without a clearly defined path so if they weren't careful they might get lost. Especially since Lykas lacked a flying type to go find the path for them if they did. And he wasn't sure if Abby did, now that he thought about it.

The more he thought about it, though, the more he realized it didn't matter. They both had SNAGs. Why was he even worrying? GRAY could just find them via GPS and mark their location on the device's map to help them find their way back out. By the time the "momentary" concern was gone, the hybrid realized they were standing outside the north entrance to the forest. "That took way less time than I thought it would..." He announced before heading in.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Lykas nodded to Abby's inquiry. "Ya, I'm alright. Just was thinking about the best way to get through here safely. I haven't been to the forest in a long time." He admitted. "If I remember right, there's actually a shortcut right through the middle going south but just in case, we should make sure to keep up with our location on our SNAGs " he explained as they walked through the woods. "Keep an eye out for wild Pokemon in here." He warned, hearing rustling in the underbrush. It qoukdn't take very long to get through the forest if they focused on not getting lost but the forest was teeming with life. It might not be so easy.

((Battle one wild Pokemon native to Petalburg Woods, North or South Route 104 or an evolved form of a Pokemon native to these areas.))  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Lykas nodded to Abby and started to lead the way, following the old roadbed he recalled once seeing as a child. It had been quite some time since he'd spent any real length of time in this region and, the longer he was here, the more he remembered Erika and the girls of the gym bringing him back to Hoenn as a kid to visit and explore the place that was supposed to be home.

Along the way, however, he'd find himself accosted by a Wingull. "You know... I've always wanted a flyer..." Lykas said to himself before pulling a Pokeball from his belt and tossing it into the air, releasing his Castform, Nacrearcus.

"Arcus, use Reflect Type." The hybrid directed his Castform. The little Weather Pokemon nodded and his body glowed for a second before taking on a bluish tone. He was now a Water-type without changing his form. So long as the weather didn't change too drastically, he'd stay that way.

Wingull wasn't going to be cooperative, however, and unleashed an Air Cutter, sending slicing blades of air at Castform. "Weather Ball, Arcus!" The Castform nodded and, almost in an instant, formed a cloudlike orb of energy with no apparent type of it's own before flinging the swirling cloudball at Wingull. The Air Cutter sliced right through it without disturbing it's form, though. Arcus grunted as the blades hit him, though they didn't appear to be particularly strong.

The Seagull Pokemon flapped it's wings frantically, getting into the air and using the explosive burst of wind from the Weather Ball to rise into the air. From higher up, the Seagull opened it's beak and, after a sharp inhale, it spit a water Gun at the Castform.

"Ok... Put an end to this, quick. Use Shock Wave!" Lykas called to his partner. Nacrearcus nodded and, with a twirl, he'd release a surge of lightning that arced across the forest, striking the bird hard and frying it to a smoking crisp. The poor thing fell from the air, charred by the electrical burns, and landed on a small shrub.

"I'm not gonna lie.. I was kind of expecting more of a fight from you." Lykas told the Wingull as he recalled Nacrearcus to his ball. "I think I'll pass on catching you, after all." He decided, leaving the unconscious avian laying there as he started to walk off out of the forest.

"Ya, I'm good now." He told Abby as he started to walk off. "I hate how few flying Pokemon there are that are actually beautiful..." He admitted with a sigh. "What I wouldn't give to catch a Swanna..."

It wouldn't take too long after that before they had managed to exit the forest via it's southern exit with Lykas finding and leading them down the old roadbed. "We should be able to hit the sea from here and head to Dewford town."  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Lykas nodded to Abby with a grin, tossing her a Pokeball. When she popped it open by the water's edge, Kamoana, his Wailord would appear. "She's a big beast so I don't find many places to use her in an effective battle but she makes for great transportation across the water." He'd inform his younger sibling while the float whale Pokemon sank deep enough for the pair to climb onto her back. "Don't get too close to her sides but, otherwise, enjoy the ride."

Walking closer to Kamoana's head so she could hear him, he called out to her. "To Dewford, Kamoana! South Southwest!" He informed, giving the giant aquatic mammal the heading and destination. A small waterspout launched from the whale's blowhole as she began to flap her fins about, getting them in motion in no time at all.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Lykas would settle in next to Abby and watch the waves go by as Kamoana carried them off to Dewford Island, only speaking directly to the Float Whale when she needed guidance toward their destination. Otherwise, he watched the sky and enjoyed the quiet away from Snagem for the moment. "I'm surprised we haven't encountered any more Shadow Pokemon... They're supposed to be all over the region but I haven't seen any yet..." It was weird. But then, he did plan to investigate the Granite Cave while on the island. He wanted to see if the town was safe from the infection due to it's isolation or not. Probably not, honestly. If a single Wingull got infected and happened to fly to the island before it succumbed to the virus, it could have easily spread the virus to the native Pokemon.

The trip wouldn't take long at all, thankfully, due to Kamoana's size and the sibling duo would soon find themselves at the docks of Dewford town. Lykas would jump down and assist Abby if she needed it before recalling his Wailord to her ball. The air of the town was tense and pregnant with the very clear concern of the townspeople. "Guess I don't need to wonder anymore..." The hybrid told himself as he looked around. This was going to be an interesting visit.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

"The Shadow Virus." Lykas explained simply. "I knew it was only a matter of time before it got here but I had hoped it wouldn't have such a devastating effect." He told the girl with a shake of his head. "There's only one place on this island, other than the water, where Pokemon live, really. The Granite Cave out on the North beach."

Looking in that direction, he saw what was making the air feel so tense. It looked like the townfolk had erected a barricade between themselves and the part of the beach where the cave was located. "They must be under so much stress all the time. If the Pokemon there ever leave the cave system, they're literally on the town's doorstep." With another shake of his head, he would head to the Pokemon Center first. He hadn't bothered with getting his Pokemon healed up or switching them out for ones better suited to the upcoming Gym after his battle against Roxanne.

After getting his Pokemon healed, he'd set about swapping out few of his Pokemon, ensuring he had Kamoana on him for their transportation on to the next leg of this journey and would ensure he had Mykel as his trump card against Brawly. Otherwise, he took a moment, to consider whom he should bring along. He Briefly considered bringing Delmare along but figured that might be more an insult to Brawly than anything to bring in a Legendary Pokemon against a gym leader meant to test the developing skills of newbie trainers. Then again, his very presence in the man's gym as a trainer with so many years of experience was likely an insult in itself.

Once his deliberation was done and he had decided upon which Pokemon he would bring to Brawly's gym, he finally notified Abby that he was done. "Ready to hit the gym here?" He asked as he headed toward the Pokemon Center doors.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Lykas nodded to his younger sister before walking out of the Pokemon Center at last. It was a short walk from the Pokemon Center to the Gym, especially given the fairly small size of not only the island but the tiny settlement generously referred to as a town that rested upon it.

With Abby in tow, he would enter through the front door and approach the desk here, realizing after his experience in Rustboro that Gyms weren't as simple as he'd always believed. One didn't just walk in, declare their challenge and battle immediately. Now the question came down to "is the desk jockey present?".

SubonicXP

TerashiLeonGoken